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Links & the graph

Wiki-links, aliases, backlinks, transclusion, graph and mind map.

In Edit, type [[ and an autocomplete list of notes appears; keep typing to filter, and click or tap a note to insert it. On a keyboard, ↓ and ↑ choose a note and Return or Tab inserts it; Esc closes the list. Nothing is chosen until you press an arrow, so Return on its own is still a new line. The list of tags after a # works the same way. The link is written as plain Markdown text — no hidden identifiers — so the file stays portable.

  • [[Note title]] — link to a note.
  • [[Note title#Heading]] — link straight to a section. Headings autocomplete too.
  • [[Note title|shown text]] — link with different display text.
  • [[Folder/Note title]] — name a note by its folder when two notes share a title. Autocomplete offers titles and aliases, so this one is typed by hand; any trailing part of the path works, and Manual/Index is enough to distinguish it from another Index elsewhere.

Clicking a link opens that note. If the note does not exist yet, following the link creates it, so you can write the link first and fill it in later. Links resolve by name, so moving a note between folders does not break a link written as its title or an alias. A link that spells out a folder follows the note only while that part of its path stays the same.

Aliases

A note can answer to more than one name. Add aliases in the note’s front matter (in the panel’s Properties view, or directly):

---
aliases: [TextKit, TextKit 2]
---

Links, autocomplete, search and unlinked mentions all understand aliases, so [[TextKit]] reaches the note whatever its filename is.

Links, in the right panel, shows what touches the open note:

  • Outgoing links — notes this one links to.
  • Linked mentions — its backlinks: notes that link to this one.
  • Unlinked mentions — notes that mention this note’s title or an alias in plain text without linking. Each has a Link button, which turns the first such mention into a proper wiki-link in one click — [[Title|the alias as written]] when the mention uses an alias, so the sentence reads as it did.

Unlinked mentions are the quiet workhorse: they surface connections you made before you had a note for the idea.

Transclusion

Embed one note inside another with ![[Note title]], or embed a single section with ![[Note title#Heading]]. Embeds accept a folder path in the same way links do — ![[Manual/Index#Keyboard shortcuts]]. The embedded content is rendered inline — the real thing, not a copy — which is useful for definitions, boilerplate or a running index.

The Graph: one note’s links

The Graph is a view of the right panel, so it is about the note you have open: that note, picked out, with what links to it and what it links to as nodes and arrows. Open it with View ▸ Graph (⇧⌘G), or choose Graph at the top of the panel.

  • The pop-up beside Links in and out sets how far it reaches: Direct links, or Within 2 links or Within 3 links for what those notes connect to in turn.
  • Click a node to trace its links: the arrows show which it links to and which link to it.
  • Double-click a node to open that note. The graph follows you to it.

Because it is in the panel, the note stays beside it and you can keep writing with the graph open.

The Mind Map: the whole collection

Where the Graph is one note’s links, the Mind Map is the links across the whole collection, drawn as a mind map. Open it from Mind Map at the top of the sidebar, or with View ▸ Mind Map (⇧⌘M); it opens as a tab beside your notes.

  • The collection is at the centre. Its best-connected notes head the coloured branches, and every other linked note sits on the branch that reaches it first.
  • Links the branches leave out are drawn as faint dashed lines, so every link is on the map.
  • Under the title it says how many notes and links it shows — and how many notes have no links at all, which is usually a note you forgot to link rather than one nobody needs.
  • Click a note to open it. Choosing a note puts the map’s tab behind it, a click away.

On a very large collection the map keeps the 160 most-connected notes and says how many it left off.

Tips

  • Link generously while writing; the panel’s Links view makes the value visible later.
  • Rename with Note ▸ Rename… so links across the collection are rewritten.
  • Use tags for categories and links for relationships — they answer different questions.